


LET THE GOOD TIMES BEGIN!

by Purrfecktnerd



Series: Cheer up the Skeleton Week! Fluff for ALL! <3 [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Arcade, Day Out, Fluff, Games, Possible Spoilers, cheer up the skeleton, cheeruptheskeleton, more shenanigans, sans has skillz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 08:17:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5960482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purrfecktnerd/pseuds/Purrfecktnerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk decides to take his new friends to the arcade, but Sans seems a bit reluctant...</p><p>@angel-of-the-impala on Tumblr was super kind and made a lovely fanart!! Be sure to visit their Tumblr and leave some love. <3 link below:</p><p>http://angel-of-the-impala.tumblr.com/post/139074069106/purrfecktnerd-wrote-a-cute-story-in-which-sans</p><p>Day 2 of the #cheeruptheskeleton tag on Tumblr. Day 2: games</p><p>I have a tumblr account, for any interested.   http://purrfecktnerd.tumblr.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	LET THE GOOD TIMES BEGIN!

**Author's Note:**

> Edited at a saner time of day for grammar, flow and rambling AUTHOR notes.

Today Frisk had decided to show them the arcade. 

They had proposed their plan offhandedly to the others the night before as everyone was preparing to go home for the night. Once they had the chance to explain what exactly an arcade was, there was an overall air of excitement at the idea.

"Games? I'm up for the challenge any day! I'll take any of you on!" Undyne flashed a very sharp, toothy grin.

"S-sounds like it would be a lot of fun. I have always wanted to research other types of human entertainment." Alphys mumbled shyly.

"GAMES? ARE THEY ANYTHING LIKE PUZZLES?" Papyrus asked and Frisk gave a gesture that meant ...'kinda?' ... "THEN OF COURSE I'LL COME! NO CHALLENGE IS TOO MUCH FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Frisk peered past Papyrus at Sans, who smiled and gave a non-commital shrug.

"we'll see, kid..."

Frisk didn't like that response. Usually when Sans responded like that he stayed at home. Frisk understood that Sans enjoyed his alone-time more than most, but they really wanted him to come. They gave Papyrus a meaningful look, but wasn't sure if the taller skeleton had caught it. They decided to let it drop.

After some further discussion they decided to meet up the next day at around 11am at the skeleton brothers' home. Then everyone parted ways and headed home for the night. 

The next morning Frisk decided to arrive early. They were greeted at the door by Papyrus, who beamed happily when he saw them. He was dressed in shorts and a t shirt with with the phrase 'Cool Beans' printed in friendly letters above an actual bean wearing sunglasses. Frisk smiled. That was cute.

"GOOD MORNING, FRISK! COME IN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS AWAKE AND READY TO DEPART! BRING ON THE PUZZLES AND GAMES!"

Frisk greeted Papyrus in return as they made themselves comfortable on the familiar old couch. When the monsters had come up from the underground, many of them had abandoned their belongings. Sans and Papyrus were two of the few that had decided to bring all their stuff up with them. When asked why, Sans had shrugged.

"i dunno. guess it just makes it feel more like home, kiddo." he winked "and with my shortcuts it not like there were any bones broken over it." 

Speaking of Sans...

Frisk looked upstairs curiously, wondering where the older brother had gone. Papyrus called up from the bottom of the stairs.

"SANS, YOU LAZYBONES! FRISK IS HAS ALREADY ARRIVED! HURRY UP, UNDYNE AND ALPHYS WILL BE HERE ANY MOMENT TO GET US!"

Almost as if on cue, there was a loud honking noise from outside. That would be them.

Sans emerged from one of the rooms in the back and leaned against the banister. He was wearing a t-shirt with a bone design and the phrase "I find this very Humerus" on the front. Frisk wondered briefly where these two got their shirts. Sans smiled and gave a lazy wave.

"hey, Frisk. don't think i'm gonna be able to join you this time around." He called "it's been a long week and i'm bone tired. just going to chill for the day"

Frisk's face fell at the news. They knew it. 

"hey. don't sweat it kid. i'll come along the next time around." Sans said, looking a bit uncomfortable at Frisk's downcast expression.

During this entire conversation, Papyrus just stared intently at his brother. Finally he seemed to make a decision. He strode purposefully up the steps, his long legs taking them two at a time. He came to a stop in front of his brother. 

"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS, SANS!" he declared "FRISK HAS INVITED US OUT FOR GAMES AND PUZZLES. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD BE SHIRKING MY DUTY IF I DIDN'T MAKE SURE EVERYONE WAS PRESENT. YOU'RE COMING WITH US!" 

Sans opened his mouth as though to protest, at which Papyrus immediately scooped the smaller skeleton up in one arm.

"hey, wait. Papyrus, what are you..." Sans, struggled feebly from his undignified position under Papyrus' arm

"WE'RE LEAVING NOW! FRISK, HIS SHOES ARE IN THE CLOSET.GRAB THEM IF YOU COULD, PLEASE."

Frisk was fighting not to laugh like crazy at the ridiculous scene in front of them, one tall, lanky, grinning skeleton in a goofy t shirt carting the smaller struggling skeleton toward the front door. When Papyrus had mentioned the shoes, Frisk enthusiastically went to the closet and retrieved a worn set of sneakers from the that could only belong to Sans. 

The look on Undyne and Alphys' faces was priceless as they watched Papyrus stride out of the house towing his brother, with frisk hustling along behind them carrying Sans worn footwear. 

"O-oh dear!" Alphys said, hiding a small smile behind her hand.

Undyne thought it was hilarious.

"That's right, Papyrus!" she hooted from the driver's seat "Don't you dare let Sans wiggle his way out of this one!"

Papyrus finally set his brother down when they got to the car. Sans grinned and shrugged.

"heh heh. welp, i guess i'm coming along then."

Frisk gave him a big grin as he handed Sans his shoes.

The drive to the arcade was a short one. It was one of those restauraunt/entertainment places that had a bar and grill on the main floor of the building with the arcade in the basement.

As they came down the steps onto the main floor of the arcade, Papyrus' hands came up to the sides of his face, his eyes shining as he gasped in delight "WOWIE!"

Frisk guessed it must be quite the sight for them. There was sound and light everywhere as each colorful display fought to grab for their attention. There were games crammed onto every wall of the place. Pinball machines, traditional arcade cabinets, skeeball, air hockey, pool tables...anything anyone could want to do here was laid out for them enticingly.

Frisk let out a whoop. Let the good times begin!

So they began exploring the massive labyrinth of games and diversions. Papyrus pretty much led the way at first, the enthusiasm just radiating off of him and energizing the whole group. The first thing they encountered were the skeeball tables. Frisk showed them the basic concept, popping a coin in the slot and then rolling the balls one at a time up the ramp and into the holes in the backboard. Their score was ok. Papyrus was next. He was a natural. He displayed excellent control of the speed and direction of his throws, nailing several high scores over a couple of rounds, bouncing with joy every time. 

"SANS. YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!" he turned to his brother, beaming. Sans looked the machine over before waving his brother off good naturedly.

"nah. i'm having more fun watching you play" he said "really."

Papyrus shrugged before turning his attention back to the game. 

At the next machine, Undyne was having a harder time of it. 

"NGAAAAH! Why can't I get them into the right holes!" she wound up and lobbed the next one, it rocketed up the ramp at an astounding speed and straight up into the air, whacking the bottom of the score display before dropping down with a thunk and rolling into the hole marked 10 points at the bottom of the backboard. The way the Scoreboard was glitching out, the poor thing might not be able to take much more of this treatment. 

"I t-think you need to throw a little less...hard...maybe..." Alphys suggested. Undyne looked at her uncomprehendingly.

"Why would I do that?" She asked blankly

Frisk decided to take this moment to step in and redirect them to the next game. Racing. There was a long bank of cabinets along one wall that all belonged to a popular kart game that Frisk singled out. They explained that all the units were connected so they could play together. What came next was chaos: beautiful, hilarious chaos. 

"NYEHEHE!!! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL TAKE THE LEAD!"

"Oh no you don't you Punk! I'm coming for you! HEY! Who just nailed me with the red shell?!"

"u-ummm that might have been me...but I'm in second place now?"

"WHO'S THE ONE DRIVING THE COURSE IN REVERSE!" 

"heh, that'd be me, bro. you know how it is, i always have to have a backup plan."

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME SANS!"

"I-I-I'm in front. I'm winning!

"Not if I have anything to say about it, nerd!"

and so on....

They hit as many games as they could. Undyne and Papyrus challenged each other at a certain popular rhythm dancing game till they could barely move. Alphys discovered and went into full on nerd mode over a rare imported cabinet for her favorite anime, Mew Mew Kissie Cutie, where apparently the goal was to use a frilly pink wand attachment to shoot beams of love energy at schoolmates to make friends with them. She ranted until Undyne eventually had to make her stop and come up for breath. Undyne got so frustrated at the pinball machine that Frisk had to intervene on the machines behalf to prevent her from suplexing it into oblivion.

Sans participated in a few of the games, but mostly he watched. Frisk was perfectly fine with this. They knew that this was not Sans being bored, he just genuinely liked to watch his friends have fun. As the night wore on, though, Frisk noticed Sans watching something else. His eyes kept drifting over to the pool tables. There were a fair number of people at the place and he had been given plenty of opportunity to observe others playing the game. No flashing lights or blaring sounds, just good conversation as people played a fun, laid back game. In other word, it was exactly the kind of game Sans would like.

Frisk asked Sans if he wanted to play. 

"sure, okay. I mean...uh...if there's nothing else you guys wanna play more?" he responded casually

Everyone immediately agreed. Sans played the first couple games with Frisk as they taught him the finer details of the game. They honestly didn't have to teach much. Sans was amazingly observant and had already picked up quite a bit from what he'd seen already. Frisk won the first match pretty easily, but honestly struggled with the second and barely lost at the end.

"good game, kid." Sans stated

"OH! CAN I HAVE A TURN NOW?" Papyrus was getting tired of watching. Frisk gracefully handed over the pool stick. Sans glanced over at Undyne and Alphys, and seemed relieved that they were huddled together in conversation against the wall. They were in their own little world and seemed to have little interest in the game. Sans smiled at his brother. 

"well, i guess that's your cue, bro. wanna play a game with me?"

"SANS, THAT PUN DEMANDS THAT I MUST NOW DEFEAT YOU SOUNDLY!" Papyrus challenged

"show me what you've got, then." came the amiable reply

Papyrus was a terrible pool player. He chronically forgot his turns, put so much effort into posing for each of his shots that he would often miss, and even when he did sink a shot, they were often the wrong color, or he would scratch the cue ball along with it. Sans, however, was the picture of patience, gently reminding Papyrus about the rules of the game or overlooking his mistakes altogether, though he had to visibly struggle not to laugh at Papyrus' flamboyant posing for each of his shots. Strangely, amazingly, the three games they played were all very close, with Papyrus winning two and Sans winning one. Frisk didn't think that was a mistake for some reason. 

Finally, Papyrus showed signs of finally being bored with the game. Frisk was starting to feel sleepy themselves and he could see that Undyne and Alphys had both zonked out sitting against the wall. Alphys' head was resting on Undyne's shoulder as she drooled onto her shirt, and Undyne's head leaned back against the wall, sharp teeth exposed as she snored none too quietly. Sans looked regretfully at the pool table, and Frisk could tell he really wanted one more game. 

"Hey, Shorty! Wanna play?" came a rough call from the next table. There was a group of young college students playing there. Frisk had seen them before. They were pretty good players and notorious for challenging the newer players and hassling them when they did poorly. Frisk didn't think they did it purely out of meanness. They were just looking for some kicks on their night out, and believed that if someone got butt-hurt over badly losing a game, it wasn't their fault they were so sensitive. 

"what do you think, kid?" Sans asked. Frisk really wasn't sure about it, but something told them it would turn out fine. They nodded the go ahead to sans, smiling before going over to watch with Papyrus.

"thanks for the invite, pal." Sans spoke to his opponent. 

The other guy got to break, and immediately sunk his first couple of shots. Frisk couldn't hear what was being said, but he could tell they were already starting with the heckling. They started to look worried, and glanced up at Papyrus who immediately seemed to know what Frisk wanted to ask. He spoke without turning his attention away from Sans' game, smiling. 

"NO NEED TO FEAR, FRISK. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL LET YOU IN ON A SECRET! SANS MAY BE A LAZYBONES, BUT EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, HE DECIDES NOT TO BE. WHEN HE DECIDES NOT TO BE, HE CAN BE ALMOST AS COOL AND GREAT AS I AM. WATCH." 

So Frisk watched. Sans took his turn another time or two, he sunk a couple of balls of his own, but his opponent still led him by quite a distance. However, around the 4th turn or so, as his opponent was only a couple of balls from winning, the tide began to turn. Sans began nailing shots one after the other. The heckling and jeers quickly died into astonished silence as he quickly gained on and passed his opponent, till there was only the eight ball left. Sans smiled widened and he began to line up the last shot.

"SANS!" Papyrus called out over the tables.

Sans paused and looked up at Pap inquiringly.

"USE YOUR BACKUP PLAN!" He directed

"pffft....heh heh heh" Sans snorted in laughter, understanding immediately "sure thing bro."

Then he repositioned himself so that the shot directed the cue ball AWAY from the eight ball, in the opposite direction. He had the glint of high mischief in his eyes as he confidently lined up the stick and took the shot. The cue ball bounced once, twice, three times as it ricocheted across the green velvet of the table and firmly clanked against the eight ball, which rolled slowly toward the corner pocket before dropping in with a muffled thunk.

Frisk gave a cheer. They watched as Sans handed the pool cue to the next player and thanked them graciously for the good game. They in turn seemed to warm up to the friendly skeleton and reciprocated, praising him in turn for his skill. 

Sans wandered back over.

"how was that bro?" 

"THAT WAS FANTASTIC, SANS! OF COURSE, I KNEW THE WHOLE TIME YOU WOULD WIN."

"heh. i bet you did" Sans said genuinely "i guess it's about time we headed home."

They shook other two awake and Papyrus collected the keys from Undyne so he could drive them home, where he insisted that everyone stay the night. Undyne and Alphys took the couch, lying at opposite ends with their legs overlapping each other in the middle, which they obviously didn't mind. Frisk was set up on an air mattress next to the couch. They were out like a light almost before their head hit the pillow, and Papyrus made sure they were well covered with blankets. 

As Papyrus was heading back up, he ran into Sans at the top of the stairs. 

"hey, Paps, they all set down there?"

"YES, BROTHER! THEY WERE ALL VERY TIRED."

Papyrus reached top of the stairs and began to head toward his own room. 

"hey bro..."

Papyrus turned, looking at his brother. In the dark, his face was unreadable. Papyrus waited.

"...uh...about earlier...i...uh...wanted to thank you....for making me come. i really enjoyed myself today."

"OF COURSE, SANS. WHAT KIND OF BROTHER WOULD I BE IF I LEFT YOU HERE WHILE WE HAD FUN?" Papyrus responded 

Sans moved suddenly. He quickly covered the ground between them and gave his brother a warm, heartfelt hug.

"really, Papyrus....thank you. you're the coolest brother anyone could ask for."

Papyrus hugged his brother back.

"YOU'RE WELCOME, SANS." 

"goodnight, bro."

"GOODNIGHT, BROTHER"

They parted and each went to their own room, full of well-being from their exciting day out and ready for a good night's rest.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so in my little headcannon, it seems to me that Sans might not like very busy places, and is maybe a bit of an introvert. It's shown that he's VERY observant of things/people around him and being in a situation where there's a lot going on might be a little wearing for him. In the game, when you see him interact with other characters he always seems to be more of a one on one guy, instead of an "in the middle of the herd" guy. So as a result, I figured he might be a bit reluctant to put himself right in the middle of a place like an arcade, which are typically uber busy, loud places with lots of people he's not familiar with. 
> 
> Papyrus, on the other hand is an OBVIOUS extrovert. He gets a thrill out of being around a lot of people and exciting places. This dynamic led me to think that maybe Sans occasionally needs a bit of a push from his brother to get out of his comfort zone (like how Papyrus convinced Sans to get the sentry job in the underground).
> 
> These prompts are wonderful, and this one feels like it came out good as well. :-D
> 
> And yes, Sans is now a genius at Pool. The game just seems to fit him, you know? I figured if he knows physics he's a math guy, and I've heard math can be applied to Pool? 3am logic at work.


End file.
